Aren't cycle cross tires (uci sanctioned anyway) restricted to something like 33 or 35mm? I think I've read that pro mtn bikers also use tubulars, though I've never seen em for sale. Perhaps they exist but are not generally available.
Back in the early 90's when I was still riding sew ups (got my first set in the late 70's) I had a hard time finding a shop in silicon valley that would rebuild my campi hi flange / arc en ciel wheels as tubulars. Shop after shop wanted me to go with mavic clincher rims. I finally stumbled onto uncle al on the north end of cupertino (i think) who of course made a fabulous job of it (built wheels for lemond too). He even spontaneously tied and soldered em cause it seemed like a nice classic touch for a classic pair of wheels. I never thought tubulars were all that hard to deal with, and they definitely rode great. Also I never had a pinch flat or "snake bite". But eventually I've adopted more mainstream modern equipment and no longer ride sew ups or freewheel hubs. Except for a track bike, I don't think I would accept the expense and limited selection/availability of tires and rims that going back to sew ups would entail. I do think its neat that some folks outside the pro racing scene are doing it though, and I look forward to hearing more about how they are doing with it. On Wednesday, April 1, 2020 at 8:05:39 AM UTC-7, Bill Lindsay wrote: > > > "Schwalbe Racing Ralphs - really a class by themselves - I’d prefer a > smoother tread but not a lot of choice at 50mm." > > I didn't realize there was a Racing Ralph tubular. I looked it up and > there it is. It's really cool to me that there is a Rivendell Atlantis out > there in the world running Cyclocross Racing Sewups! > > Anyway, the size I found was a 700x35. You say you have a 700x50 version > of the Racing Ralph sewup? Where did you buy it? I'm SUPER intrigued by > that possibility, and it has the brain gears turning... > > > Bill Lindsay > El Cerrito, CA > > On Wednesday, April 1, 2020 at 7:30:09 AM UTC-7, Bill Schairer wrote: >> >> Over the past year and a half I have converted my 4 most ridden bikes, >> including my Atlantis, to tubular. The Atlantis was the last and the only >> one with “modern” tubular rims, the Major Toms. The rear hub is a Deore XT >> and the front a Shimano dynahub. Right now I have Schwalbe Racing Ralph >> 50mm tires on the Atlantis. I’ve put more or less 300 miles on this setup >> and am quite happy with it. Overall, I’m guessing I have roughly 6,000 >> tubular miles. I have changed exactly two tires on the road, one puncture >> and one blowout of a used, rotten tire I shouldn’t have been riding. >> Definitely easier than fixing a clincher on the road. I have opened up >> two tires to repair punctures. One was a used FMB purchased with the >> puncture. Definitely a bit time consuming but not as bad as I expected and >> all part of the learning process and experience. I am no longer >> intimidated by it. Otherwise, my experience has been that if the tire will >> hold enough air to get reasonably hard, sealant will do the trick. If it >> can’t hold air at all, sealant will make a mess. Open the tire up instead. >> Once the tire has sealant, as near as I can tell, it must be like riding >> tubeless. I pulled a 1” brad out of a tire that I found after I got home. >> I’m still riding the tire. I’ve pulled 3 goat-heads out of front tires >> without sealant without suffering punctures. I did a 400 mile tour in New >> England with 4 spares and sealant because I didn’t want to become a >> liability to my buddies. Figured I’d have to get 5 flats that sealant >> wouldn’t cure before I would have to worry about opening a tire. There >> were 4 of us. Two flats but none were mine. The others were paranoid >> about riding off pavement on their clinchers but I had no fear and no >> problems. Around home, I was riding with one spare and sealant but have >> switched to two spares, saving sealant for home repairs. >> >> I began my journey with Vittoria Rallys despite all the negative reviews. >> They are cheap so made a good learning tire for stretching, gluing, >> mounting etc and now serve as spares. They got me over the intimidation >> phase. I really like Veloflex Vlaanderen tires. They are 28mm and super >> comfortable and easy to mount. I ride them at 60 psi in front and 75psi in >> back. I’m 170 lbs. I picked up a pair of used FMB Sprints (32mm, 33 mm). >> They are absolutely dreamy. I had them on a backup bike which became not >> a backup. I finally took them off wanting to save them for a planned tour >> this fall (ha - good luck with that). The bike has fallen back to backup >> status. I was riding those at 30/35! At the pressures I’ve been riding >> tubulars I would be pinch flatting clinchers and not tolerating the >> squishy, lack of control feeling. I was just never able to dial in any >> clincher (including Compass) for comfort and road feel. I have been >> quietly wondering why Jan was not offering tubulars and am glad he now is. >> I, so far, will agree that there is little need to go wider than a tubular >> in the 30’s for comfort. I can ride the FMB’s at the same pressure as the >> 50mm Racing Ralphs and they are more comfortable and have much better feel >> on the road but the RR’s do provide much better float for rough stuff, >> sand, or mud. >> >> Here is how I would rate the tires I have purchased - none at MSRP(just >> to address the expense issue a bit): >> >> FMB Sprint purchased used. Dreamy and probably worth MSRP, as high as it >> is >> Veloflex Vlaanderen, 2 sets purchased on sale. All 4 have around 1800 >> miles. The rears are getting a bit thin and will need to be retired soon. >> >> Considerably down scale: >> Vittoria Pave Evo CG 27MM purchased on sale after reading forum >> recommendations. Nice but I’m never drawn to them. >> Schwalbe Racing Ralphs - really a class by themselves - I’d prefer a >> smoother tread but not a lot of choice at 50mm. >> Dugast Ghiros (32,33) purchased used. Comparable to Steilacooms but I >> can ride at lower pressure even though narrower. Like the RR’s, tread >> pattern not really ideal for most of the riding I do but got em cheap and >> wanted to try them out. They are on that backup bike now which just does >> not draw me like it did with the FMB’s >> >> Schwalbe G-one 30mm purchased on sale and not yet ridden. Will soon >> replace a set of the veloflex >> >> My conclusion: >> >> Looking for that wider, softer, faster ride and worried about whether >> they will fit your frame? Before you go buying a frame to fit those tires, >> try out tubulars. Softer, better ride. I do wonder about confirmation >> bias. My answer - >> >> 1. since switching to tubulars I have not had any saddle sores (which >> would sometimes plague me before) >> 2. Clincher days, Atlantis with 50mm Mondials was number one bike for >> rough pavement routes. Now any bike with tubulars. I found the 28mm >> veloflex just as comfortable as the 50mm clinchers on rough pavement. >> Atlantis riding time dropped dramatically when still wearing 50mm clinchers >> but is now back up since switch. >> 3. When I find myself consistently choosing to ride one bike over another >> because of the tires mounted I figure there must be some real difference. >> >> Bill S > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/0019d050-772d-4035-8545-cb7777809605%40googlegroups.com.
